THE IMPACT ON LEADERSHIP STYLES ON EFFECTIVELY MANAGING DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES IN A SMALL BUSINESS

Cristina Seaman, New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Joshua E. Bienstock, New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Jennifer Kalla, Independent Scholar, Massillon, Ohio, U.S.A.

John T. LaPerla, New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Eleanor Schwartz, New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Anne L. Brown, New York Institute of Technology New York, New York, U.S.A.

Published in

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENTVolume 19, Issue 1, p85-95, March 2019

ABSTRACT

This research project seeks to understand which leadership style can be most effective in managing difficult employees to improve the productivity of the difficult employee and the success of the manager in maintaining employee morale and productivity. The focus of our study will be on small business and the unique supervisor/employee relationship in a small business environment. For the purpose of this study difficult employees are defined as employees who disrupt the process of effective innovation under the guidance of efficient leadership in the workplace. In the absence of effective leadership disruptive employees can affect attendance, punctuality and productivity. Without effective leadership difficult employees can cause anxiety in co-workers, harm employee morale, trigger arguments, disputes and potentially violence. Failing to manage the difficult employee skillfully may result in the best and the brightest employees leaving the business out of frustration. The study is seeking to determine which leadership style is embraced by small business managers in coping with the difficult employees they encounter.
This study will employ a mixed method research method, Q-Methodology to examine the role of leadership styles in effectively managing difficult employees in the small business environment. Our research will extend previous research by examining which combination of leadership styles; transformational, transactional, situational, or 21st Century leadership styles that should be implemented by small business managers in effectively managing difficult employees and developing a modern method of leadership.